And Then There Were Three
by Niclo121212
Summary: Isadora is a girl with a secret. As the first ever girl in the Glade, she'll need to figure out how to balance her visions of both past and future with fitting in. And a growing sense of need for one special Brit. Along with Teresa and Tommy, her old friends, showing up right out of her dreams... Shuck. T because I'm paranoid. DEATH CURE SPOILERS, SUCK WITH SUMMARIES.
1. Up The Rabbit Hole You Go, Alice

**Hey, everyone! I'm starting a new fanfic about the Maze Runner series! This is basically exactly like the Maze Runner, except there is a little twist... There was a girl before Teresa, before Thomas. And she may or may not have decided to ship herself with Newt. *facepalm* I SWEAR IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THAT WAY, BUT SHE JUST... SHE JUST MADE ME DO IT. THE IDEA WAS TOO CUTE NOT TO DO IT. Lol though, I'd much rather ship Newt with myself. Who wouldn't?**

**So, this is it. Please don't flame me too hard. Many ideas and characters belong to James Dashner, but some belong to me. :)**

**Enjoy! ~Niclo**

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><p>Before the darkness of the box, before I even though of opening my eyes, I heard the screeching of an elevator. I thought that was strange, because as far as I knew, I had never even <em>been <em>on an elevator before. I searched my mind, finding that i didn't remember much of anything, but I knew what a lot of thigns were; I knew Cinderella, but had no idea where I'd read it before. I could hum a tune, but didn't know where I'd heard it or how I knew it. I was grasping at faces, at words that I knew should've been there, but they weren't. I decided I didn't dare open my eyes, afraid of what I might see.

Then I heard boys shouting, and light entered the box.

"Hold on... there's _two _of them."

"Is that a girl?"

"I call dibs!"

"You don't get dibs, you shuck-head."

"And you do, you shank?"

"SLIM IT," a powerful voice yelled. The voices died. "You can open your eyes now, girlie."

I cautiously opened one eye, then both, and peered upward at the dozens of faces surrounding me. There was a boy next to me. Nothing special. Brown haired, brown eyed, tall and lanky. Too much acne.

"Names?" The same stong voiced, dark skinned boy asked us, peering down at us with a less than friendly expression.

"I'm Ben," the boy next to me muttered quietly.

"Alby," the dark skinned boy said. He extended a hand to Ben and yanked him up out of the box, giving him a small smile. "Welcome to the Glade."

Ben nodded, looking around in confusion. He looked like he was in shock.

Then the group of teenagers- all male, ages 14-18, it looked like- turned to face me. I shrank backwards farther into the corner. "Where am I?" I said helplessly. "I want to go home. I don't even remember home, but I don't want to be _here_."

"Hey, calm down, Greenie. We'll answer your questions soon enough," Alby assured me. I nodded slightly. I felt like I could trust them, for some reason. Some feeling I couldn't explain told me they could be trusted. "Could one of you shanks get her out of the box?"

"Bloody hell, Alby, no need to shout." A boy stepped towards me, laughing, and extended a hand. And that's when my eyes found a familiar face.

He was tall, and definitley a year older than me, although I had no idea how I came to that conclusion since I had no idea how I old I was. He looekd about 16, with scraggly dirty blond hair and a bright smile. He was tall, and decently muscular throughout his body. Not like I was looking.

I tentatively took his hand, before talking again as I climbed out of the box. "You're Newt, right?"

He blinked in shock before nodding slowly. "You... You actually remember something before the box?" The boys behind Alby muttered to each other, now looking at me with looks more wary than happy. "That isn't normal."

"I..." I blinked, forgetting whatever i had just remembered. "I don't know," I sighed unhappily. "I could've sworn I knew you from someplace... But maybe I was wrong."

"You take her to the Homestead, Newt," Alby ordered. "I'm too busy for two Greenie's. She'll take the tour in the mornin'. I'll show Ben 'round now."

"Good, that. I'll take Greenie number two," Newt joked.

Alby snorted. "You're one jacked Glader, Newt. Get on with it."

Newt saluted. "Copy that, Admiral Alby." Alby shot a glare at him and the other boys, and they quickly dispersed, each heading off to do who knew what.

"Never got your name," he told me as we started walking towards a large building. "If you remember, that is." I noted his adorable accent.

"Isadora," I replied quickly, not sure where the name came from, but it feeling right. "You know where your accent is from?"

"Some place out in the real bloody world, I reckon." He glanced around,expression flickering from sad to happy, before saying, "This is what we call the glade. Those walls, you seem em? Those lead into a pretty big buggin maze. Only Runners like myself are allowed out into the maze. Never go into the-"

I tripped, my feet suddenly unsteady, and went flying forward. "Damn," I muttered, managing to catch my balance, but not before stubbing my toe on a tree root. I didn't even notice he had grabbed my arm.

"Easy there, love," he snickered. "Don't want to break the Greenie before she's even gotten the infamous tour." I tugged my arm away, rolling my eyes, but smiling nontheless.

"I agree with Alby. You are one jacked glader."

"Picking up on our lingo already, are you?"

"I'm assuming jacked means crazy, and you boys are the Gladers, since you live in the Glade."

"And men say women don't have high IQ's," he teased.

I laughed, feeling as though we'd had this conversation before. Suddenly, I felt my eyes welling with tears. "I want to go home," I whispered quietly.

"We all do Greenie," he said reassuringly. "We all do. But for now just follow the bloody rules and get along as best you can, right?"

"Right," I agreed, sniffing and wiping the lone tear from my cheek. We stopped walking in front of a large two floor building. "Homestead?"

"Homestead," he confirmed. "If you need anything, Greenie, just shout. I'm pretty sure one of these slintheaded shanks'll get ya whatever you need. You can sleep over there; don't worry, we're gentlemen. Most of us."

I snorted very unnatractively. "Yeah, yeah, thanks a lot. See ya, Newt."

"See ya, Issy."

"It's Isadora."

"Issy's a bloody nickname, Greenie, no need to get your knickers in a twist."

"Night."

"Night," he said with a smile, before walking away into the fading light. I watched him leave, and couldn't shake the feeling I _knew him _from somewhere; but I had to be wrong. Right? Right.

I curled up in a corner under the window, and the boys did seem to mostly be gentlemen. Other than the few invites to sleep with them- which I not so politely turned down- they left a decent five foot ring around me. I leaned into the corner, resolving to sleep outside the next day. I didn't like sleeping in a small room surrounded by boys. I was a girl, after all. Was I pretty? It shocked me that I didn't know if i was even slightly pretty. I knew my hair was long and brown streaked with red, but that was it. I didn't have a perfect body, I knew; somehow, I just did, and I assumed they knew that too. But it looked like I was the only girl in the Glade, maybe the first one ever.

One girl, about thirty or so boys.

It was going to be a long year. Or month. Or however long it took me to get out of the Glade and the Maze. Because one memory had stuck with me.

Newt said only Runners were allowed out into the Maze. The exit had to be throught the Maze, right? So I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

I wanted to be a Runner.

And I was going to make it happen, no matter the rules in my way.


	2. One Big Shuckin' Trip, Huge Bloody Fall

**Hey, second update already! Hooray! Cheers! Or, as Issy would put it, 'Way to go, shank!' Lol. I love my Issy. She's my bae. :3**

**Well, onto chapter two! Jsut so you know, everything in italics is a dream or memory or thought or something like that. You'll figure out which one based on context. Love you all! Thanks for the reviews!**

**Also: SPOILER ALERT FOR THE DEATH CURSE. Just so you know. It's a fairly minor spoiler. But still. It's about how Newt got his limp...**

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><p><em>"It's so quiet here," I mumble around a mouth full of sandwich. I'm in the Glade, except there is nothing here yet. No tree's, no Homestead, nothing. Just grass. All entrances to the Maze are blocked off. There are no birds, or animals of any kind. There is no sun in the sky, just a strange bulb. Scientists in lab coats are milling around, talking to other teenagers, both boys and girls.<em>

_"Hard to believe this'll be the Maze Trial for Group A," a brown haired boy says next to me. A girl on my other side laughs._

_"It really is," she says._

_I smile, wrapping an arm around each of them. "Come off it, Tommy. I don't want to worry about that now. I love you guys, but seriously... I love the others too."_

_"You mean Newton," the blue eyed, black haired girl said, a smirk forming on her lips._

_"Newt and I are just friends,Teresa," I defend. "I just don't want to watch him and the others die."_

_"You won't have to. We have to, but you won't," Tommy smiles sadly. "To be honest, I don't really agree with it much either."_

_"For the greater good," Teresa said solemnly._

_"I'm starting to doubt that," I mutter. But I don't think either of them hear me._

_"Hey," I hear Teresa scream. I see someone in a lab coat dragging a boy down towards the now opening maze entrance. "Let him go! Let him go!"_

_"He didn't sign up for that," I scream at them. The three of us get up and start running at the lab coats holding the boy. "The trial doesn't start for another week! Put him down!"_

_"Let him go," Tommy shouts. "Come on, let the kid go!"_

_"We're testing movement of the walls," the man says calmly. "And Griever hunting skills. He'll be fine."_

_We stop running. He pushes the kid into the Maze. The walls close._

_"He's not coming back," I whisper to them. "Is he." It's not a question._

_"I don't think so," Tommy whispers back._

_"WICKED is good," Teresa whispers, sounding torn up, eyes clenched shut. "WICKED is good."_

_"Or maybe it isn't."_

_Five minutes later, we hear the screams._

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><p>I woke up in a cold sweat, arms shaking, curled into a ball. I glance around at the faces crowding my vision, my breath coming in short gasps, then barely any oxygen at all.<p>

"Back up," I heard someone order. "She's having a panic attack! Back up, you slintheads!"

"Tommy," I gasped. "Teresa."

"She's trying to say something," Newt said with a puzzled look.

"Paper," I gasped, gesturing for a pen and paper.

Knowing what I meant, an Asian boy handed me a pen and sheet of paper. I quickly scribbled down what I had dreamed, the memory already fading. slowly, my breathing returned to normal, and Alby sat down next to me along with Newt and a boy I recognized as Gally, who looked a little concerned.

"You okay, Greenie?" Newt asked, brow furrowed. "That was pretty shuckin' scary. You gave me a huge bloody fright there."

I nodded. "I... remembered something, I think."

"What?" Alby said. "Could it help get us out of here?"

I shook my head side to side. "No, but it confirmed what I thought before. I knew all of you before the Maze. But some things didn't seem right- seem factual. Don't read what I wrote, on second thought. If I dream anymore, I'll write it down and compare everything so I know what's true and what's not."

Alby thought for a moment, head tilted. Then nodded in agreement. "Good, that. But keep down the screamin', will ya, Greenie? You woke all us sorry shanks an hour before sunrise."

"Whoops," I said unapologetically, expresionless.

"Whoops," he repeated a little sarcastically, before standing. "Guess now is as good a time as any to get up."

"I need to get runnin'," Newt shruged. "See you later, Issy. Don't do nothing to bloody stupid." He smiled, but something seemed off.

He didn't have that look of Runner determination on his face. It's more the look of someone who thinks they're about to get hurt, and knows it. And accepts it. Maybe even intends on seeking out the pain.

"Be careful," I said, suspicion creeping into my mind.

"Bye, Isadora." He ruffled my hair.

I knew something was up. Even before the Maze, I didn't think he'd ever called me Isadora.

"Time for the tour, Gre-"

"I need to use the bathroom. Be back quick, promise." I darted out of the Homestead, and watched Newt leave for his run.

He didn't follow the other runners.

So I decided to follow him.

I waited until Alby went to the bathrooms to look for me, before darting out into the Maze. Which was probably very stupid. But I had the feeling that my best friend/favorite slinthead was going to do something much more stupid. I needed to follow him. So I turned left, the way I had seen him turn. I sprinted at full speed, kicking my sneakers off to the side near the entrance. I managed to catch up to him fairly quickly, and watched him from behind a corner. He was climbing the ivy.

_What the shuck is he doing? _I thought angrily, tempted to yell at him, or tell him to get down, or drag him down.

"Now or never," I heard him mutter. I held my breath as he turned on the vine. He was nearly at the top of the wall.

And then he let go.

"Newt!" I screamed. He fell straight to the ground, landing hard. I almost thought I felt the ground shake beneath my feet. I ran straight to him, checked his pulse, tears pricking at my eyes. _Please be alive please be alive please be alive please-_

"_Bloody hell_," he groaned in pain, writhing around on the stone floor of the maze. A laugh bubbled out of my chest.

"Thank god, you're alive." I stroked his hair, tucking his head onto my lap. "You _slintheaded, horrible, son of a-_"

"Thats real nice and all," he moaned in pain. "But, can you do something about my bloody leg? I landed hard when I trip-"

"You jumped, you didn't trip, and if anyone asks I heard you yell right outside the door and came and helped you limp back to the Glade." His knee was messed up. It was definitely dislocated, if not shattered. I laced my arms aound his chest and hauled him up. "Up you go, shank."

"You're stupid for following me," he muttered halfheartedly.

"Why did you jump?" I asked. "You were trying to kill yourself, I know you were."

"Too bad I didn't get it right."

"Why?"

He stayed silent for a moment, limping along, before he spoke. "I can't take it here much more, Greenie. I was one of the first. And it's been over two years and we've found no way out of this bloody hell hole. I'm having a hard time seeing the light I guess."

"I hope you mean 'light' as in 'hope', not 'light' as in 'the light'."

"First one."

"Good."

I paused by the door, tossing my shoes around the corner, before helping him through the door. Heads turned our way. "He's hurt!" I shouted. "Badly!"

All the boys came running.

"What kind of slintheaded act of-" Alby started at me, furious.

"She saved my life, that one," Newt smiled a little, wincing as the medical guys looked at his leg, prodding it. "Tripped near the entrance, fell, hit my head. She was walking by and heard me, came running in. Kept me awake. Good that, I'd say. Greenie did something quite bloody courageous."

Alby was still stewing in anger, but simply said, "Right inside the entrance?"

"Right inside," Newt agreed.

"Then I guess I have no legitimate reason to punish the shank."

"Exactly- _OW!_"

I stroked his head, humming a tune. "It's alright, Newt, you'll be fine."

"We're gonna need to set it. It's dislocated _and_ broken. Must've been one huge shuckin trip, that."

"Quite a bloody fall," Newt agreed through clenched teeth.

"Shh." He clenched my hand so hard when they set his knee it turned white. But I didn't care.

It looked like he was going to be fine. That was all I cared about.

That day, I'd had my first taste of what the Maze did to people. Of what it broke inside each and every Glader. Yet, I still wanted to be a Runner.

And it looked like they were one Runner short.

Internally, I smiled.

Showtime.


	3. Well, Things Just Got Awkward

**This is chapter three, already! HOLY SHUCK. HO. LY. SH. UCK.**

**Reviews- even flamey ones- are very much appreciated! Thanks to those who have give them!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"If you weren't in the shuckin' hospital, I'd kill you," I mummbled into Newts arm as I hugged him goodnight.<p>

"Don't understand why you're so bloody attached to me."

"I told you- I think we were friends before the Maze, I really do. I keep having dreams about-"

"So, love, you dream about me?" He smirked, a look of satisfaction flickering across his face. I felt my cheeks heat up.

As soon as the blush faded, I rolled my eyes, there forward ignoring the jab of humor. "Not you specifically, but from what other people say to me in them, I'm guessing we were close." I didn't exactly mention how close.

"Why don't you talk to Alby?" He mumbled into my shoulder, shifting his arms around me slightly. I didn't pull away.

"I... I'm afraid of what he might ask, or think. I wasn't the best person, I don't think. I think I know- knew- ugh, I think I understood things about the Maze. But I can't remember what things specifically."

"Well," he let me go. I felt a twinge in my heart; almost like dissapointment. "I'll be healed up in a week or two. I'll be limpin'. A bloody bad limp at that. But healed. You oughtta get some sleep, Greenie. That's whats best for you right now, I reckon. Been a long day."

"That it has been."

I sat there on the edge of the cot for what seemed like an eternity, not wanting to get up.

"I don't want you to leave," he admitted a little quietly, shuffling his hands around, eyes downcast. "To be honest,_ I_ get the feeling we were pretty close to each other before the Maze. Bloody hell, maybe we were best friends. Who knows. But I am undeniably more comforted by your presence than by any of this bloody pain medication."

"I can't decide whether that's adorable or sad."

"Probably a bit of both, I reckon."

"Do you- you really want me to stay?" I stuttered out, a little uncertainty in my voice.

"Yep, that's about right. Get over here, Greenbean."

I cautiously laid down next to him, on top of the blanket, about five inches apart from him. Even though we were not exactly invading each others personal bubbles too badly, I could still feel his breath on my nose.

"Just until you fall asleep," I said sternly.

"You're pretty bloody amazing, you know that?" He half spoke, half sighed, sounding half asleep.

"Not really. But you're a pretty bloody great friend." I yawned, and closed my eyes.

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><p><em>It's dark. I'm sitting at a computer, Tommy on my left, Teresa on my right. We're typing in commands.<em>

_"The walls are a go," Teresa whispered quietly into the microphone on her part of the table._

_"Brain activity moniters are working well," I whisper into mine._

_"Grievers are working," Tommy says into his._

_Then we each, as if going down a line, press the little red buttons that turn the moniters and microphones off. I slump backward, head in my hands. "I can't do this. I can't. They're sending the first thirty five or so up tomorrow, and-" My breath catches, and I choke down a sob. "All of them are going. All of them. From both A and B."_

_Teresa chokes on the water she was sipping. "What?"_

_"What do you mean, all of them?" Thommy asks worriedly._

_"They sent me the list. Alby, Nick, Minho, Frypan and George... and Newt." And then the tears start, and I can't stop them. They pitter on the clear plastic table for what feels like an eternity before anyone speaks._

_"Everyone... all our best friends, gone?" Teresa's voice is choked up._

_"And that's not the half of it," I continue. "Rachel and Sonya too. Both of 'em."_

_"God," Tommy whispers. "I can't believe... why them? Why _our_ friends first? We like them all, but... some of them are our best friends. How could they do this?"_

_"WICKED is good," Teresa mutters, more to herself than to us. "It has to be, this all has to be for the greater good. It HAS TO BE."_

_"I want to say goodbye," I stand suddenly, Tommy grabs my wrist._

_"You can't," he hisses. "You want to be sent up there with them?"_

_"Anything is better than watching my _best friend_ die." I yank my hand away, and go running down the hall leading to the west._

_"No!" A voice shouts. "Don't- don't- PLEASE!"_

_I burst through a door, faced with a bunch of WICKED lab coated scientists. "I just want to say goodbye," I whisper quietly._

_"YOU," Alby says, lunging at me._

_I duck away, and see a familiar mop of blond hair somewhere in the crowd. I shove through the group of twenty or so boys, and end up in Newt's arms. "Don't go."_

_And then they're dragging me away, and I watch them fall one by one, as they start to loose their memories in the simulated sleep. And I decide to do my job. But not the way they want me to. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure they stay alive._

_All of them._

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><p>It's almost light when I woke, cuddled into Newt's side. His arm was wrapped securely around me, but given what I'd just seen, it felt... awkward.<p>

Were we more than friends before the Maze? Or were we just really close?

I wasn't sure which one I hoped was the answer.

Newt blinked his eyes open lazily, still slightly asleep. "For the sake of the lovin' Glade, Greenie, you didn't really have to stay. If you didn't want to, I mean."

"What if I wanted to?" I sighed.

"You tease."

"You adore me."

"Sure, sure, whatever you need to tell yourself."

I sat up, glanced around. "The med-jacks are gone," I noted.

"Probably got uncomfortable, the only girl ever to set foot in the Glade in my bed and all."

"It sounds so dirty when you say it like that."

"Wait until I tell Minho- just think of the bloody stories he'll tell."

I opened my mouth to snap something sarcastic at him, but ended up smiling. His nose twitched- that was his tell, I could tell he was lying. "Your lying," I laughed.

"Possibly."

"I _knew_ it!"

We laughed, just as Alby burst through the door. "What in the name of all the slintheaded, shuck-faced, klunk headed moves were you two-"

"Mornin' to you too, Alby."

"You bloody shank you, yell a little louder. Don't think the Grievers in section eight could hear you."

"Don't be smart with me, you two are lucky I don't _banish your asses-"_ Alby raged.

"Look at Alby, pullin' out the swear words. Way to go, shank, didn't know you had it in you."

"Shut your hole, Greenie! I was going to give you the tour today, but know I'm thinkin' I should show you the Slammer! The inside of it!" He slammed a hand down on the med-jacks table for emphasis.

"Sorry," Newt siad with a role of his eyes. "Wait- _no_, actually, I'm not."

"I'd say it was an accident, but..." I shrugged. "Kinda wasn't."

"I'd say that Alby gets a little jacked when it comes to public displays of affection."

"Or he's upset because he won't get any."

"Good that, Greenie."

"_YOU TWO SHANKS-_"

"Hush up Alby, it won't happen again," I muttered.

"_DID YOU JUST TELL ME TO HUSH UP?_" Alby spluttered angrily, stepping closer to me, fists clenched, shooting me a death glare.

I stood, oozing confidence and female power. I met his gaze evenly, totally calm, and unwavering. "Yes, I did, and I'd appreciate it if you;d stick to my reccomedation."

We stood there, in a slinet stand off, until Alby calmed down.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "It's just, we're never had a girl before, and you hangin' with Newt all the time is caousing a bit of an uproar."

"Like I've said before: we knew each other, I'm certain."

"Well?" Alby said. "Ready for the tour?"

"Not like I need it."

Thre three of us laughed. "Good that," we said in unison. And then we fell over laughing again.


	4. A Glimpse, A Fight, and a Runner

**IF YOU THINK ISADORA IS BIPOLAR, IT'S A SIDE EFFECT OF HER... GIFT. YEAH, THAT.**

**Hey guys! Let's get this thing to five reviews, and I'll give you a sneak peek of the last chapter! Which has already been written, I was struck by inspiration during a quiz today, so i scribbled out the first draft when I was done. **

**I thank you all sososo much for your favs and follows, it really means a lot to me. I'm a very typo filled writer, so thanks for putting up with that. See any typos? Tell me, I'll fix 'em when I have time, which is basically whenever.**

**THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS STORY. JUST SO YA KNOW. ALSO, THERE WILL BE THE OCCASIONAL TIME SKIP... A LOT. XD**

**Thanks for teh support, hopes you likes its!**

**~Nikki**

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><p><em>One month later...<em>

I awoke to Minho shaking my shoulder. "Time to get up, Newbie, big day for ya. First day out in the Maze. I'm pretty buggin' excited to see how you do, given your magical rescue of Sir Second in Command last month."

My body lunged forward, and I grabbed the bag which I had set down by my bedside the night before. As the only girl, i got one of the only beds... sometimes sexism had its perks. And sexism was abound in that shuckin' place, let me tell you. I had barely started my Keeper training when guys started telling me about how I should cook for them and clean up there messes, to which I snarkily replied a comment on how they should stick themselves with their own blades.

Was that taking it too far?

Maybe.

But not to me; it wasn't, not really.

It was kind of a miracle I had even managed to get a place in the Runners training anyways, considering most of the Gladers didn't want me placed anywhere but the kitchen with Frypan, who was adamant I be placed anywhere _but _the kitchen. I for one was arguing to be placed anywhere but with the Runners. (Newt made some comment about how I was 'one bloody stupid Greenie' for wanting to go in the Maze, but I had elected to ignore that.) For better or for worse, though, the deed was done. I was going on my first run ever.

I was scared.

I was excited.

I'd never felt so sick.

I'd never felt so _alive._

But more than anything, I was happy i had befriended Minho and Alby. They were great people, once you got through their tough outer shell of, well, toughness. Alby had even admitted that I had grown on him, and consented to let me give the newest Greenie- a cute little boy named Chuck, who was about the sweetest thing I'd ever seen- the tour. A rare exception. But he told me I had picked up on the ways of the Glade faster than any other Newbie before me. That i almost knew it better than he did, and he was one of the people who built it.

"Ready," I said, hopping out of bed and lacing up the shoes I had been given the night before. It had surprised me that I didn't even know what my own shoe size was. It was an eight. I also saw myself in a mirror for the first time, and finally let myself say it: Okay, maybe I was a _little_ bit pretty. A little. My skin was clear of acne, my dark brown eyes were equal parts kind and cold, and my hair was cut in layers. I looked okay, other than the fact that I had absolutely no body to speak of.

As soon as we ran into the Maze, right after the west doors had opened, and ran along the corridors. "This leads from section eight," Minho explained. "That middle left square there. Right into section one- that top left square. Passage is always in the same spot, but the route there changes nightly. The walls changing and all that."

Minho huffed along, every once in a while reaching out with the swipe of a blade and snipping a vine off a wall, or scribbling down notes to make a map later. Then he stopped, me nearly running into him, and extended the knife to me. "Gotta learn to do it on the run, girlie. We'll pick 'em up later, or just kick 'em to the side."

Gingerly, as if it would explode as I touched it, I took the knife. "Why do i need to learn?"

"You're showing a great amount of natural talent," he shrugged. "I'll ask that jacked leader of ours if i can have you placed here- with the Runners. We can always use more, we get injured all the time, or Stung, or killed, or we quit."

I gulped, suddenly feeling a little more nervous as I glanced around at the walls, before slicing off a vine and giving him a tentative smile. "Let's hope for the last one."

"Good that."

I was happy to have something to do as we picked up the pace again, and I wasn't all that great at first. i had to slow down, or stop completely. But after about ten tries, I started to be able to do it faster. By the time i hit my fifteenth, I could almost do it as fast as Minho.

"Break time!" He announced around noon, and i gladly slumped down the wall, and snatched my water out of my pack, practically guzzling the whole thing down. My muscles burned. My throat burned. My lungs burned. And most of all, my skin burned. Boy, that sun was hot. "We'll be heading back soon, so we can make it in before the doors closed."

"Anything different today?"

"You mean _other _than the_ whole new Maze? _Not in particular."

I studied the walls as Minho handed me an apple, and I munched down. Then, I saw it.

**World In Catastrophe:**

**Killzone Experiment Department**

Confused, I read the words aloud to Minho. "What do they mean?"

"Oh, those? They're all over the shuckin' maze, but I got no idea what they mean. Something the pretty little Creators labeled their cute little Maze with, maybe. I don't know, shank, and I don't care. I quit lookin' at 'em a long time ago."

I nodded, but for the rest of the day, I couldn't get those words out of my mind. I just couldn't. And I wanted to know how it happened- how those words got there. Mostly if I had anything to do with it. But I couldn't. It didn't sound happy, and i didn't seem upset in any of my dreams/visions/memories. I couldn't be involved in the building of the Maze...

Could I?

* * *

><p>It wasn't like I meant to tell him.<p>

"Hey, Newt?"

"Hm?"

We were sitting under a tree, me on one side, him on the other, and Alby and Minho up and sparring with sticks, acting like kids. I smiled at the thought; they were teenagers, after all, and should've been able to grow up like a normal teenager... however it was that normal teenagers got to grow up. It wasn't like we remembered.

Well, not like most of us remembered. I was a rare exception.

"You think it's possible I could be placed as a Runner?" I twirled my hair around my finger, thinking about the possibilities. I didn't think Minho had been giving me false hope. He didn't seem the type.

He choked on his sandwich. "Sorry, _what?_"

"A Runner," I repeated slowly, releasing my hair.

"You want to be a bloody Runner?" He asked sharply. I winced. Alby and Minho glanced over at us, seemingly noticing that we were arguing about something. "Why would you ever want to be a bloody Runner? Do you even understand how dangerous that is? How dangerous the Maze is?"

"Newt-"

"Issy, you're bound to get hurt. You're not as strong as us, and you were a natural Med-jack, why not be one of those instead? I mean, by the Creators, you're a _girl-_"

"Excuse me?"

Alby and Minho nervously shuffled away from us, as the tension grew thick in the air. "Shit," Newt mumbled. "Issy, I didn't mean it like that-"

"Then what _did_ you mean it like? That I should just sit around and _look pretty_ while you _men_ do all the heavy lifting? I'm better than that and you know it-"

"You need to stop Issy, you know I didn't mean it like that. I just... I just don't want you getting hurt," he mumbled.

"Because I'm a girl," I deadpanned.

"NO! Because I'm your friend, and I bloody care about what happens to you! How do you no get that? I've run the Maze, and that place is scary, and there are Grievers and dangers and I don't want you to get bloody hurt, okay?"

"I kind of believe you. But that was still kind of sexist," i huffed.

"You and your sexism."

"You and your accent."

"What's that got to do with any of this bloody mess?"

"Nothing, just wanted to make you uncomfortable."

"It worked."

"Yeah, I knew it would."

"You too okay now?" Minho asked with a little smile.

"No."

"Yes."

"We're bloody fine."

"I doubt that."

"Whatever."

"Exactly."

"See ya," he snarled. "Runner," he added, a little more kindly.

* * *

><p><em>It's dark. It's so dark. All I see is the dark.<em>

_"Open your eyes, Issy," Newt whispers._

_I clench them shut tighter. "No no no no no-"_

_"Issy! Don't go catatonic on me, you can't, not now-"_

_"I HAVE NO ONE LEFT!"_

_"Issy, you have me, don't-"_

_"YOU'RE GONE, NEWT! GONE!"_

_"Issy-"_

_"GONE."_

_"Open your eyes."_

_I cautiously open one, and choke on my own tongue. "N-Newt? You're-"_

_"I'm fine."_

_"But the Griever, you and Tommy..."_

_"He's going through the Changing. Bloody idiots, you two, doing it on purpose. You came out a lot quicker than him."_

_"I thought you were hurt-"_

_"Banged up a bit, nothing to worry about."_

_"Knee bad?"_

_"Little."_

_"I love you."_

_"I love you two."_

* * *

><p>I cracked an eye open, totally awake.<p>

"Did I... did I just see into the future?"


	5. Tommy and Greenies and Newt- Oh My!

**HEYA GAIS. Sorry this is late... I was having internet troubles. Side effect of living in the middle of nowhere, I guess. XD Not to mention it was pouring ALL WEEKEND. UGH.**

**Enjoy, and remember you silent readers... Reviews are motivation!**

**~Niclo**

* * *

><p>We heard them before we saw them.<p>

It had been another month since that weird futuristic type vision, and even though the next Greenie was due that day, I was in no rush to get to the box. A random girl showing up as a leader in a sea of boys could be more than a little intimidating, according to Chuck.

But when I finally did get there, the words were already flying.

"Look at that shank."

"How old is he?"

"Looks like klunk in a t-shirt." Almost unknowingly, I tugged down my green v-neck t-shirt a little bit as i elbowed my way through the crowd, until I was standing next to Newt and Alby.

Alby reached into the box, and tugged the Greenie out. I didn't notice for a moment how familiar he seemed; but then again, i hadn't had a dream in a while, so it took me a second to put a name to the face.

_Tommy._

Trying in vain not to let anything out about how familiar he seemed, I just smiled a little. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking us all over, as Alby said his line: "Welcome to the Glade."

He was still taking it all in when the scratchy voice behind me said his part. "Look at the Greenbean. Gonna break his shuck neck checking out the new digs."

"At least the new digs look better than your face," I snapped. "Shut your hole, Gally."

Tommy studied me, Newt, and Alby. We were standing in the front of the crowd, somtimes glaring at some poor shank who dared make a rude comment. We kind of took it upon ourselves to protect the Greenies- especially me, since I knew how it felt to be different even more than them.

"Where am I?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Nowhere good," Alby responded. "Just slim yourself nice and calm."

Some poor shank in the crowd made some comment about him being a Slopper, and I reached over and smacked him upside the head.

"Shut it," Alby demanded. "Or next break'll be cut in half."

Silence reigned.

"It's a long story, shank," Alby continued. "I'll give you the tour tomorrow, until then just... Don't break anything."

"Then tell me. Tell me the long story."

Newt and I exchanged a look of _Can you believe this kid?_ before Alby snorted down a laugh.

"Seriously," Tommy said. "Where am I?"

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human," Alby said, struggling to find a way to make Tommy more comfortable. "Act any different and I'd throw you off the Cliff because you'd be a psycho."

"The Cliff?" Tommy echoed.

"Shuck it," Alby muttered. I reached a hand over and patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Ain't no way to start these conversations here, you get me? We don't kill shanks like you here, promise. Just try to avoid being killed, or survive or whatever. Man, I ain't good at this. You're one of the first Greenbeans since Nick was killed."

"Wait for the bloody tour, Alby," Newt groaned. "Kids gonna have a buggin' heart attack, nothin' even been heard yet." HE extended a hand towards Tommy, who shook it. "Names Newt, Greenie, and we'd be right cheery if you'd forgive our klunk for brains new leader here."

"Oh shut your mouth, shuck-face," Alby said very rudely. "At least he can understand half the words I say."

"Oh play nice you two," I giggled, shoving the boys apart and extending a hand towards Tommy, trying to look just as curios about him as he was about us. "Names Isadora. They call me Issy."

"Nice to meet you, Issy." He smiled a little.

"How'd you get him to shut up about the questions?" Alby asked a little enviously.

"Feminine charm," I replied.

"Sure," Newt snorted. "As if you have any."

"Excuse you?" I laughed.

"Why don't you two just get married already," Alby sighed uncomfortably.

"That depends; I didn't think we had a priest in the Glade," I teased.

Tommy took then to jump back into the conversation. "Who sent me here? How'd-"

"Time enough for questions during the tour," I told him with a gentle shoulder squeeze. "Wait till then, or my shank friends here might loose their patience, and who knows what'll happen."

And surprisingly enough- although he paled slightly, he actually followed my advice.

* * *

><p>It was nearly seconds after the closing of the doors that Newt pulled me aside to talk to me.<p>

"Did you see that bloody shank Minho yet?"

"No," I said with a roll of my eyes. "I have much better things to do than wait around for that shank to get to the buggin' Maps. He's never on time, that one."

"You're a better Runner than he is, and you barely just started," he teased, looking slightly uncomfortable.

I very suddenly noticed how close we were standing, and that most of the Galders probably couldn't see us in this little corner of the walls. "Yeah, I guess," i responded, now looking equally as uncomfortable.

I gently kicked him in the shin of his good leg, his old leg now healed completely, other than the ugly white scar running across his knee. "How's the leg?"

"Fine. Not any worse than yours."

"I tripped over a log," I defended, crossing my arms and turning my nose to the air. "That's an entirely different-"

"Sure, sure," He mumbled. "Just happy you didn't break something. Not like our medjacks have the best bloody medical equipment."

"Ain't that the truth," I agreed quietly.

We stood there for a moment, just hiding in close quarters in the shadows, me tugging a little at the frayed edge of my white shorts.

"I should go," he said quietly.

"Me too," I sighed.

"We bbarely get any time together anymore."

"Doesn't help that I'm running most days, or that Nick left Alby totally confused on what to do- me and Chuck worked out fine, because I had you and he had me, but poor Greenie..."

"Good, that."

I gently poked his chest, which put enough distance between us for me to squeeze by him and into the open. "Night, Newt."

I almost thought I heard him sigh a little wistfully. "Night, Issy."


	6. Lapse of Judgement

**HEYA GUYS!**

**So, time to respond to reviews: **

**themadgears: Aww, thanks for beig the first reviewer! And I have humor? What humor? *confusion***

**ThatGlader (Megs): I SURE WILL! :D**

**Descending: Thanks, sweetie! 3**

**Wise Owl Eyes: Here's those updates you asked for!**

**MegaDiary123: To both your comments, thanks so much!**

**BlueBree: YOU CALLED HER ISSY. POINTS FOR YOU. AND YES, THERE WILL BE MANY MORE NESSY (IS THAT A THING) MOMENTS TO COME!**

**Read and REview please! THEY MOTIVATE ME.**

**~Nikki/Niclo/Nikita**

* * *

><p>NOTE: THINGS ARE, IN CASE YOU HADN'T ALREADY NOTICED, PACED DIFFERENTLY THAN THE MAZE RUNNER. SOME THINGS FROM THE MOVIE WILL BE INCLUDED AS WELL, THAT WERE NOT BY ANY MEANS IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT. JUST SO YOU KNOW. KAY? KAY.<p>

I was not a happy Glader.

The morning after Tommy arrived- the _morning after,_ they found a dead Griever. Not even joking. Minho and Alby decided to investigate it the next day, being Keeper and Leader, and I was hanging out in the Glade, doing absolutely nothing, because I wasn't allowed into the Maze until the Griever had been investigated and all that.

I had a love/hate relationship with Newt, on top of all the Greenie drama, and I just didn't want to deal with it. It was getting annoying- all the girly little flutters, feeling like I wanted to sing every time he came around. I hated it. I loved it.

I was also struggling with the idea of _partying_ in the Glade. It was something I was coming to enjoy.

About once a month we'd throw a little party type thing. The name Lord of the Flies came to mind- even though I had no idea what that was. A bonfire, food. Fighting. Lots of fighting. Another phrase came to mind: Fight club, and I knew exactly what that was. I almost felt like I was in one of my vision/dreams. Whenever Gally's fist went flying at some poor shank, I could've sworn I felt a little slip of green fabric-like paper being poked at my hand. Money. Not like there was money in the Glade, but still…

I knew a fight club was a real thing. But when I mentioned the words to Alby, he looked at me like I was crazy. Absolutely crazy.

I enjoyed the bonfire, everyone laughing and talking and tossing things in the fire to see if they'd explode. It was so utterly _masculine _of a thing to do. And I wasn't a very feminine girl to say the least.

But after an hour, it'd get old, and I'd escape to the Deadheads and climb into a tree for a little bit of peace.

One night, as I walked by the freshest soil, I ran a hand over the name. _Nick._ I never knew him. But he seemed like the fourth musketeer- Alby, Minho, Newt and Nick. Now it was Alby, Minho, Newt and Issy. I almost felt like a replacement, especially when Minho commented on the fact that Nick and I were kind of similar personality-wise.

But what worried me? Nick didn't exactly die of natural causes. Made me wonder which of the four musketeers was going next. I didn't think I could live with it if it was any of us.

I clambered up into an old maple tree, and hunkered down in the leaves. It was a little chilly, but not chilly enough that I wished I had a jacket. My eyes closed, and I leaned against the bark, head resting right in the fork of two branches. Kind of like a pillow.

"Hey."

"Ack!" I tumbled out of the tree, landing hard on my back with a thump. Thank god I hadn't been high off the ground. "_JACKASS._"

Newt was barely containing his laughter. "You okay there, Issy?"

"No!" I stood, brushed myself off, and readjusted my t-shirt. "Great, last clean pair of shorts, too…"

His laughter could no longer be contained at that point, and I instead turned and walked away, humming a tune that I half-remembered, trying not to bite his head off. "_Check yes Juliet, are you with me, rain is falling down on the sidewalk. I won't go until you come outside._"

"Woah." He grabbed my shoulder, forcefully turned me around and sat down next to me under the same tree. "Where did you learn to sing like that? How do you even remember how to sing?"

I shrugged. "Instinctual, I guess."

"Sing for me," he joked elbowing my side gently.

I took it as an invitation. "_Run baby run, don't ever look back. They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance. Don't sell your heart, don't say we're not meant to be. Run baby run, forever will be you and me._"

He smiled a little shyly. "You're a bloody good singer, Isadora. A bloody good one."

I felt a blush creeping up my neck, and fought it back. "I try," I responded. "Probably helps that I'm a girl."

"How many songs do you remember?"

"Not sure. Tons of little pieces. Like: _Father, father, tell me where are you now? It's been hell not having you here. _And then, _Is this what you call a family? Is this what you call a family? Why are you walking away? Was it something I did to make a mistake? _I'm pretty sure those are from the same song. And thenI have my favorite. I remember all of it, I'm pretty sure."

"Sing it."

"Wow, how bout no, I've embarrassed myself enough for tonight."

"For me?" He made the most ridiculous face, and I laughed before starting to sing again.

"_She paints her fingers with a close precision, he starts to notice empty bottles of gin, and takes a moment to assess the sins she's paid for._ _A lonely speaker in a conversation, her words are swimming through his ears again. There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you paid for. Say what you mean, tell me I'm right, and let the sun rain down on me. Give me a sign, I want to believe. Woah, Mona Lisa, you're guaranteed to run this town. Woah, Mona Lisa, I'd pay to see you frown."_

He sat there for a moment, silent. But it was comfortable silence. I, being very tired, leaned a head on his shoulder. "What are you thinking?" I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the near darkness that felt so still.

"I'm lost for bloody words, Issy. You're amazing."

"I doubt that severely."

"But you are."

"Oh, shut up."

"Make me," he dared.

And for one second, nose to nose in the dark, I seriously considered throwing the rules Alby had promised me to follow right out the corner. "Don't make any romantic relationships with anyone," he had advised. "It'll only cause problems. Half the guys round here want to split you into pieces and each take one."

But I wanted to. Form a romantic relationship. Right there, right then.

Badly.

"What if I did?" I breathed.

"What if you did?" He whispered back. "I'd return the favor sometimes."

But, falling back under self-control, I pulled away. "Guess that's not happening."

"Issy-"

"Don't _Issy _me, Newton-"

"Newton?" He echoed, confused on multiple levels.

"Nothing," I grumbled. "It's nothing, Newt. It's just, this is wrong."

"This," he repeated slowly.

I gestured vaguely between the two of us. "This _thing_, us, whatever this is. It can't happen."

"Why not?" He whined and, completely changing my mood, I laughed.

"Because, I think it happened before, and… it didn't end well, for any of us. Alby hated me, Minho was ready to wring my neck and Tommy and Teresa felt betrayed-" I found myself ranting what I had found out from my dreams and suddenly, I was in tears. "It all went to shit Newt. Everything, on the turn of a dime, and the three of us… Me, Tommy, Teresa… It was all our fault. This is all our fault."

He awkwardly wrapped an arm around me. "Uh, there there?"

I snorted a laugh out through my tears. "Good job, Newt, way to cheer me up." The tears were nearly gone a minute after that.

"You're certainly bipolar today," he mumbled. "But Issy, if you're really that worried about 'this' being messed up, it doesn't have to be an official thing. Bloody hell, you make it sound like you were serious about that marriage deal."

"You… you're a great friend, Newt."

"Lapse of judgment? That's what we'll call it, then?"

"Yes, Newt. That's exactly what we're gonna call it. A lapse of judgment."


End file.
